Asia/Australasia Catastrophe Review, 2013: Asia and Australasia also received their share of both natural and man-made catastrophes in 2013. One of the most costly man-made events occurred in China after a major fire hit a large microchip factory in September. The blaze caused significant damage to the SK Hynix-owned facility in the city of Wuxi, with reports saying the cost to the (re)insurance sector is expected to range between USD900 million and USD1 billion. The incident represents the most expensive single-risk loss on record to occur in China.

Guy Carpenter Extends Coverage of Industrial Park Database to Include Vietnam, Malaysia and South Korea: In 2011, Thailand experienced its worst flooding in years with insured losses estimated at around USD15 billion, of which the Thai General Insurance Association attributed more than 90 percent arising from commercial risks located within industrial parks. As industrial parks are common in several countries in the region, Guy Carpenter developed a database of digitized boundaries of these parks to support its clients’ ability to analyze the potential for catastrophic losses arising from exposures located within park boundaries.